Monday 27 August 2018

Monday Daily Briefing: Trump strikes a trade deal with Mexico, how the Saudi king put the kibosh on Aramco’s IPO, U.N. calls Myanmar military’s actions against Rohingya “genocidal”

Highlights

The United States and Mexico agreed to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement, putting pressure on Canada to agree to the new terms on auto trade and other issues to remain part of the three-nation pact.

See Also: U.S.-Mexico deal is only start of tough NAFTA road

↑ President Trump speaks to Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto on the phone as he makes an announcement on the status of NAFTA. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

For the past two years, Saudi Arabia has prepared to place up to 5 percent of Aramco, its national oil company on the stock market. Officials talked up the Saudi Aramco IPO with international exchanges, global banks and U.S. President Donald Trump. It was the brainchild of 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, heir apparent of the world’s largest oil exporter. But after months of setbacks, the prince’s father, King Salman, stepped in to shelve the deal.

Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Muslim Rohingya with “genocidal intent” and the commander-in-chief and five generals should be prosecuted for the gravest crimes under international law, U.N. investigators said.

See also: Verdict postponed in Reuters journalists case as pressure mounts on Myanmar

Samantha Power  @SamanthaJPower

Major development. Painstakingly thorough report by UN investigators, who have found “genocidal intent” by Myanmar in attacking Rohingya. Important calls for government’s commander-in-chief and 5 named, implicated generals to be prosecuted.

5:10 AM - Aug 27, 2018

World

Turkey warned that U.S. trade sanctions against it could destabilize the Middle East and ultimately bolster terrorism and the refugee crisis, underscoring the regional impact of Ankara’s deepening rift with Washington.

Iran lawyers asked the International Court of Justice to order the United States to lift sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against Tehran, but Washington described the suit as meritless.

COMMENTARY

Tesla isn’t going private after all. In the wake of the latest bombshell announcement, Breakingviews’ Antony Currie says the company run by Elon Musk should raise capital to ease financial pressure and ensure it can sustain higher production and churn out profit.

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Business

Markets may be signaling rising recession risk: Fed study

A narrowing gap between short-term and long-term borrowing costs could be signaling heightened risk of a U.S. recession, researchers at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank said.

3 min read

Turkey's economic pain felt as far as Tennessee

Turkey’s currency crisis has roiled emerging-markets investors far and wide, including the U.S. state of Tennessee, where the state’s retirement system is the biggest institutional holder in a Turkey exchange-traded fund.

3 min read

Reuters TV

Sheriff Joe attempts next act in political life

U.S. News   2:13
Colleen Jenkins  @colleenjenk

Joe Arpaio trails his opponents in the Republican nominating contest for Jeff Flake's Senate seat in Arizona. Could this be the last ride for "America's Toughest Sheriff?" https://reut.rs/2whqm7L @andysullivan

9:05 AM - Aug 27, 2018
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